March 21, 2024 | Ottawa, ON | Health Canada
maintaining the Canadian Health Act (CHA) remains a critical opportunity to protect Canada’s health care system and ensure Canadians have equitable access to medically necessary care based on their needs, not their ability to pay.
Today, the Honorable Mark Holland, Minister of Health, announced mandatory Canada Health Transfer (CHT) deductions totaling over $79 million in response to patient fees in 2021-2022 for medically necessary services available to patients without deduction under the CHA should be deductible.
The goal of the Canada Health Act and mandatory Canada Health Transfer (CHT) deductions has always been to ensure that patients do not pay out of pocket for medically necessary services. The federal government introduced the CHA reimbursement policy in 2018 so that when provinces and territories take action to eliminate patient fees and the underlying circumstances that led to them, they will be reimbursed for these mandatory deductions.
As provinces and territories (PTs) work with the federal government to stop patient charges for medically necessary services, British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and Newfoundland and Labrador have received refunds of deductions under the policy totaling over $90 million US dollars. Reimbursements recognize the work done to protect patients from unreasonable charges and improve overall access to healthcare services. If provinces and territories take additional action to eliminate patient fees, they will be eligible for additional reimbursements.
Canadians and their families deserve timely access to the health services they need, and they expect their governments to work together to find immediate and longer-term solutions to these challenges. The federal government will continue to work closely with the provinces and territories to ensure that all Canadians have equitable access to essential medical care based on their needs rather than their ability to pay.
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